` THE THREE MUSKETEERS

We begin the novel in France, where a young man from Gascony (a city in France) named
D’Artagnan sets out for Paris with three gifts from his father: fifteen crowns, a horse, and a letter of
introduction to M. de Tréville, who is a Very Important Person since he commands the King’s
Musketeers.

D’Artagnan hopes to become a Musketeer one day, but he doesn’t have much going for him
except for his training as a gentleman, which means, effectively, that he can handle a sword and be
polite about it. His pluck, determination, and good manners lead him to become BFF with three
Musketeers named Porthos, Athos, and Aramis, and also lead him to fall in love with the beautiful
Constance Bonacieux.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Buckingham (i.e., only the biggest deal in England) is wooing Queen
Anne of France. Since they can’t exactly be public about their feelings for each other (she’s married
to the King of France, after all), Anne gives him some diamond studs as a consolation prize during his
trip back to England.

Enter the nefarious Cardinal, who is the biggest deal in France—yes, even bigger than the
King. The Cardinal, who’s still angry that Anne burned his declarations of love some time back, wants
her to get in trouble with her husband. He knows, through his spies, that Anne gave the diamonds to
Buckingham. He suggests that the King throw a fête (party) and require Anne to wear the diamonds
(which were originally a gift from the King, which means that Anne re-gifted a gift from her husband
to her lover—classy). As soon as Anne finds out about this fête and this requirement, she bursts into
tears.

Enter Madame Bonacieux, who promises that she will find someone to help the Queen regain
the diamond studs in time for the ball. This someone turns out to be D’Artagnan, who’s just tripping
all over himself to get in her good graces. He takes his buddies Athos, Porthos, and Aramis to
England to retrieve the studs, but one by one each of them is detained on the road. D’Artagnan
makes it to London alone and meets with the Duke. He finds the studs, but two are missing.

To solve the problem, the Duke has two new ones whipped up and blocks any ship from
leaving England to ensure that the missing studs don’t make it to Paris. This, of course, means that
he’s declared war on France, but obviously the honor of his beloved is much more important.
D’Artagnan makes it back to Paris in time to save the Queen.

Now Madame Bonacieux is ready to get busy with D’Artagnan—she makes a date with him
for ten o’clock at a little pavilion. When he shows up, however, D’Artagnan waits to no avail. It turns
out Madame Bonacieux was kidnapped. The plot thickens.

D’Artagnan next skips town with Planchet (his trusty lackey) to find out what happened to
his friends. They find Porthos and Aramis at two inns along the way, but both are still too wounded
for travel and so D’Artagnan leaves them both horses and presses on to find Athos. D’Artagnan finds
Athos at another inn down the road, and the two friends reunite over several bottles of wine. While
intoxicated, Athos tells D’Artagnan how a woman once ruined a "friend" of his. This friend was a
nobleman who, many years ago, married a beautiful woman against the wishes of his family, only to
discover she was a branded criminal. His heart has been broken ever since (foreshadowing!).
 After a few bumps in the road (Athos gambles away two of the horses, and Porthos and
Aramis lose theirs as well), the four return to Paris and D’Artagnan finds out that the King is
recommending him to become a Musketeer. This joy is short-lived, however, as all the men must
somehow gain enough money to outfit themselves properly for war. Porthos and Aramis appeal to
their mistresses, and D’Artagnan sleeps with a noblewoman in return for a valuable ring (that, we
find out, once belonged to Athos) and the two sell it to split the money. The friends find themselves
well-funded and ready for war—all is well in the world, right?

Wrong. Trouble is, D’Artagnan didn’t just sleep with any old woman—he slept with Milady,
who is an agent of the Cardinal. Not only did he sleep with her, he uncovered her secret: she has a
fleur-de-lis branded into her shoulder, marking her a criminal. As a result, Milady sends two assassins
after him and then follows that up with some poisoned wine. Our young hero barely escapes both
times.